{"id":1852946,"date":"2026-03-28T17:53:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T14:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1852946"},"modified":"2026-03-28T17:53:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T14:53:24","slug":"wanderstop-studio-ivy-road-to-close-after-funding-for-second-game-didnt-come-to-fruition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1852946","title":{"rendered":"Wanderstop studio Ivy Road to close after funding for second game &#8220;didn&#8217;t come to fruition&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/wanderstop\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Wanderstop<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Wanderstop studio Ivy Road to close after funding for second game &#8220;didn&#8217;t come to fruition&#8221;<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Annapurna has &#8220;one last surprise brewing&#8221; to help the &#8220;cosy narrative-centric game&#8221; reach more players.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/wanderstop-review-3.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Wanderstop screenshot showing Alta and Boro on a bench from behind, looking out over the tea shop and clearing\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"wanderstop-review-3.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Eurogamer \/ Annapurna Interactive<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Vikki Blake avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/1533038852.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Vikki Blake avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"1533038852.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"179\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/vikki-blake\">Vikki Blake<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-03-28T17:53:24+00:00\">March 28, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/wanderstop-studio-ivy-road-to-close-after-funding-for-second-game-didnt-come-to-fruition?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          1 comment<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"5492ee0d-a296-4fee-9763-d41113ef54de\" data-name=\"Wanderstop\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Wanderstop\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Wanderstop\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Wanderstop\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Wanderstop\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Wanderstop\" title=\"Follow Wanderstop\"><br \/>\n  Follow Wanderstop<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Ivy Road, the studio formed by talent behind games like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-stanley-parable\">The Stanley Parable<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/gone-home\">Gone Home<\/a>, and Minecraft, is closing down.<\/p>\n<p>The indie studio&#8217;s only release, Wanderstop, dropped this time last year and is currently sitting on an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/game\/wanderstop\/\">80 Metacritic score<\/a>, but &#8220;funding didn&#8217;t come to fruition&#8221; for its next game, Engine Angel, and the studio &#8220;had to shut down&#8221;.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Wanderstop - Official Reveal Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gibl4LINXZc?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/gibl4LINXZc\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Wanderstop &#8211; Official Reveal Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Wanderstop &#8211; Official Reveal Trailer.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gibl4LINXZc\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;It\u2019s hard to put into words how thankful we are to have been able to work together on Wanderstop \u2013 this is an incredible group of people! And while we had a new project, Engine Angel, that we were excited about, unfortunately the funding didn\u2019t come to fruition and the studio had to shut down,&#8221; the team said.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;While we tried to shop the concept around and find a publishing partner, unfortunately we weren&#8217;t able to land a deal. It&#8217;s a particularly tough time for raising game funds, so while we weren&#8217;t necessarily surprised, we are disappointed that we won&#8217;t be able to bring Engine Angel to life together as a team. Liz&#8217;s concept is incredible, and we hope it may someday come to fruition!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead, the team has thoughtfully provided a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ivyroad.fun\/studioupdates\/ivy-road-march-update\">Chapter Select cheat<\/a> to help players of Wanderstop if they happen to get stuck in an area, but teased: &#8220;There&#8217;s still one last surprise brewing, one we&#8217;ve been working on for the last year to help find a way for Wanderstop to reach new players. The great folks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/annapurnainteractive\">Annapurna Interactive<\/a> will be sharing more news about this in the future, and we\u2019re looking forward to you all seeing what it is.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Making games is incredibly challenging work: it requires technical skills, emotional investment, financial investment, a whole lot of long hours, and a bit of luck and serendipitous timing thrown in,&#8221; the statement concluded.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are so proud that we got to create something together as a team that was ultimately experienced by hundreds of thousands of players: we hope that you&#8217;re inspired to create something of your own someday, whether art, music, writing, or even a video game of your own.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We thought Wanderstop was &#8220;warm-hearted, funny, and never less than sincere,&#8221; hailing it &#8220;a pleasant place to while away the time, though less successful as a vehicle for mindfulness in itself&#8221;. We awarded it 3\/5 stars in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/wanderstop-review\">Eurogamer&#8217;s Wanderstop review.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s estimated that <a href=\"https:\/\/publish.obsidian.md\/vg-layoffs\/Archive\/2026\">at least 3,000 developers have lost their jobs<\/a> in the first three months of 2026 alone, and that at least 13 studios have been shut down. In 2025, roughly 5,300 people lost their jobs, on top of almost 15,000 in 2024.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Ivy Road, the studio formed by talent behind games like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/the-stanley-parable\">The Stanley Parable<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/gone-home\">Gone Home<\/a>, and Minecraft, is closing down.<\/p>\n<p>The indie studio&#8217;s only release, Wanderstop, dropped this time last year and is currently sitting on an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.metacritic.com\/game\/wanderstop\/\">80 Metacritic score<\/a>, but &#8220;funding didn&#8217;t come to fruition&#8221; for its next game, Engine Angel, and the studio &#8220;had to shut down&#8221;.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Wanderstop - Official Reveal Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gibl4LINXZc?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/gibl4LINXZc\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Wanderstop &#8211; Official Reveal Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Wanderstop &#8211; Official Reveal Trailer.<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=gibl4LINXZc\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&#8220;It\u2019s hard to put into words how thankful we are to have been able to work together on Wanderstop \u2013 this is an incredible group of people! And while we had a new project, Engine Angel, that we were excited about, unfortunately the funding didn\u2019t come to fruition and the studio had to shut down,&#8221; the team said.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;While we tried to shop the concept around and find a publishing partner, unfortunately we weren&#8217;t able to land a deal. It&#8217;s a particularly tough time for raising game funds, so while we weren&#8217;t necessarily surprised, we are disappointed that we won&#8217;t be able to bring Engine Angel to life together as a team. Liz&#8217;s concept is incredible, and we hope it may someday come to fruition!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Looking ahead, the team has thoughtfully provided a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ivyroad.fun\/studioupdates\/ivy-road-march-update\">Chapter Select cheat<\/a> to help players of Wanderstop if they happen to get stuck in an area, but teased: &#8220;There&#8217;s still one last surprise brewing, one we&#8217;ve been working on for the last year to help find a way for Wanderstop to reach new players. The great folks at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/companies\/annapurnainteractive\">Annapurna Interactive<\/a> will be sharing more news about this in the future, and we\u2019re looking forward to you all seeing what it is.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Making games is incredibly challenging work: it requires technical skills, emotional investment, financial investment, a whole lot of long hours, and a bit of luck and serendipitous timing thrown in,&#8221; the statement concluded.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are so proud that we got to create something together as a team that was ultimately experienced by hundreds of thousands of players: we hope that you&#8217;re inspired to create something of your own someday, whether art, music, writing, or even a video game of your own.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"2\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>We thought Wanderstop was &#8220;warm-hearted, funny, and never less than sincere,&#8221; hailing it &#8220;a pleasant place to while away the time, though less successful as a vehicle for mindfulness in itself&#8221;. We awarded it 3\/5 stars in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/wanderstop-review\">Eurogamer&#8217;s Wanderstop review.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s estimated that <a href=\"https:\/\/publish.obsidian.md\/vg-layoffs\/Archive\/2026\">at least 3,000 developers have lost their jobs<\/a> in the first three months of 2026 alone, and that at least 13 studios have been shut down. In 2025, roughly 5,300 people lost their jobs, on top of almost 15,000 in 2024.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Wanderstop Wanderstop studio Ivy Road to close after funding for second game &#8220;didn&#8217;t come to fruition&#8221; Annapurna has &#8220;one last surprise brewing&#8221; to help the &#8220;cosy narrative-centric game&#8221; reach more players. Image credit: Eurogamer \/ Annapurna Interactive News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on March 28, 2026 1 comment Follow Wanderstop Ivy Road, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1852946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1852946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1852946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1852946\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1852946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1852946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1852946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}